Untitled 2004

Here's an audio guide script for the artwork provided: Jason Rhoades assembled this sculpture from neon lights. Imagine him up on a ladder arranging and hanging each piece. The colours are electric, like pinks and oranges and blues, a real buzzing atmosphere. The artist has taken neon signage in a new direction, away from advertising. There are words hanging down, but they're disjointed and nonsensical. They could be slogans or poetry or song lyrics. Each individual neon light is carefully crafted, bent into shape, glowing with its own energy. You can see that Rhoades is having a bit of fun, playing with language, poking at our expectations. There's a raw, spontaneous feel to the whole thing, like he's just riffing on ideas, letting his imagination run wild. It's a bit of a mashup of different things, which reminds me of the sculptures of someone like Kurt Schwitters, just gathering stuff together, trying to make something new. Ultimately, it's about creating an environment, an experience. And in the end, who knows what it all means? But that's part of the fun, right? To get lost in it all, to find your own way through the chaos.